An author of 'staggering genius'

The first line of author Dave Eggers' book, "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius," reads, "This was uncalled for."

Readers and fans of Eggers, however, would most likely disagree.

As a result of "Heartbreaking," a memoir about raising his younger brother after losing both of his parents to cancer within 32 days of each other, Eggers' popularity has soared, especially among college students and 20-somethings.

This was nowhere more apparent than at a series of campus events with Eggers last week, including a reading, a luncheon and a speech on independent publishing. The events were sponsored by the Council of the Humanities and the Program in Creative Writing.

Eggers, 36, is the author of three books. His first, "Heartbreaking," was a New York Times bestseller and a 2001 Pulitzer Prize finalist for general nonfiction. Eggers is also the founder of McSweeney's — a quarterly literary journal and an independent publishing company — and the founder of 826 Valencia, a nonprofit tutoring center and writing school.

In a packed Stewart Film Theater on April 12, with some students forced to stand in the back, creative writing professor Gabe Hudson introduced Eggers by saying that the author's books are "the anchor of my sacred bookshelf," and that 40 percent of his students name Eggers as their favorite author.

Eggers then gave the audience a window into his writing process by reading a segment from his new, yet-to-be-published book, a novelized version of the life of a Sudanese boy.

Throughout the reading, Eggers would stop to comment on a particular sentence or phrase.

"That's a bad metaphor!" he said in one interjection. "I've got to change that."

Career

Eggers said he has been writing all his life.

At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Eggers majored in journalism and concentrated on writing about music and art. "It is strange to speak at schools that I couldn't get into," Eggers said before the lecture.

After a string of temporary writing jobs, Eggers began writing "Heartbreaking" in 1998. The book, written in a stream-of-consciousness style, reveals many personal aspects of Eggers' life, including friendships and the relationships between him and his younger brother as well as past girlfriends.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

"On a personal level, I was figuring out my own thoughts about family and generational issues," he said in an interview. "I didn't know it would make any sense in the end."

Intended for a small audience, only 10,000 copies of the book were originally printed.

"I wrote with a recklessness that was corollary with the size of the audience," he said. "The fact that it had a broader audience was a shock. I still think it's a very weird book."

Despite this odd style, many students on campus have embraced Eggers' work.

Kathyrn Lankester '08 has been a fan of Eggers since she read "Heartbreaking."

"He's an author who really became famous with a book that I think appeals to young people about to enter the world at a time when our generation was at that stage in our lives," she said. "His novels are like a vortex, with language that seems a bit frantic and scattered at times."

After "Heartbreaking," Eggers published two other books, "You Shall Know Our Velocity," his first novel, and "How We Are Hungry," a collection of short stories.

Despite his books' success, Eggers said he does not think of himself as famous.

"There aren't any writers that are famous in the way people think of fame," he said. "It's nice to have readers, but fame doesn't apply."

826 Valencia

Besides his writing, Eggers also discussed his nonprofit project, 826 Valencia, which he started in 2002.

The centers, whose name comes from the address in San Francisco where they started, provide free tutoring and writing classes to neighborhood students. To "fulfill an obligation to the landlord," Eggers also included retail stores that appeal to children and their parents.

There are now a total of six centers, with the others in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle and Ann Arbor.

The center in San Francisco also serves as the home of Eggers' independent publishing company, McSweeney's.

Nathan Kaplan '07, who attended Eggers' speech, has been volunteering at 826NYC, the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company, since the summer of 2004. He spent his first few weeks painting walls and playing on the McSweeney's softball team.

"Everyone at the center is really great," he said. "There are so many schools in the area and so many kids who need help with homework or encouragement outside of the classroom, and the center is a great place because it provides these things in an environment that is a 10 or 21-year-old's dream."

In an interview, Eggers said that 826 Valencia has been the most rewarding part of his career so far. "It was such a basic idea that would have some use," he said. "I didn't think it would take off. It is mind-blowing. There'll be more in the future."

"Ultimately," he added, "we might get to a point where adults feel a responsibility to help kids."